People are being asked to only visit Queens Medical Centre's emergency department in a 'real emergency'.

Hospital bosses have made the plea after seeing scores of extra patients over the past few days.

The hospital is also working to process and discharge patients as quickly as possible to free up space - but people are being warned to expect long waits. The average wait to be seen is currently around three hours.

Read More

Rachel Eddie, deputy chief operating officer at QMC operator Nottingham University Hospital, said: "QMC’s emergency department has been incredibly busy over the last few days, with 621 attends on Monday compared to an average of 550 daily.

"These pressures have impacted on the flow through and our of our hospitals, resulting in some unacceptably long waits for patients for which we apologise.

“We are taking exceptional actions, in conjunction with our health and social care partners, to improve flow and reduce delays.

Read More

"We ask the people of Nottingham only to use emergency department if it’s a real emergency and help by using alternative health services such as their local pharmacist, urgent care centre (London Road) or free NHS 111 number wherever possible."